Leday History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Leday family

The surname Leday was first found in Roxburghshire, where "this surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of the Liddel.'" [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) "The family, in which there have been two peerages, were found among the merchants of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, some two centuries and a half since.

The name seems to have been derived from the Liddel, a river of Roxburghshire." [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print. "For the last two centuries the Liddells have frequently filled the offices of High Sheriff of the county and of mayor of Newcastle." [3]CITATION[CLOSE]Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.

"There is, however, an old manor of Liddel in Cumberland from which the name may also have been derived. Persons named Lidel or Lidale appear in various records of the reigns of David II, Robert II, and Robert III, and James I, but none of them seem to have had lands in Liddesdale." [4]CITATION[CLOSE]Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)

Another source claims the family "descended from Turgis Brundoz, a Norman, to whom Liddel or Lydale, on the borders of Scotland, was granted by Ranulph Meschin, temp. Henry I. It remained with his descendants till temp. John, when it passed away by an heiress to the house of De Stuteville, and then to that of Wake. The younger branch of the De Liddels settled in Scotland, where John de Lidel in 1292 held the revenues of Dundee in farm, while about the same time William de Lydel was seneschal of the Bishop of Glasgow, and led the forces of the see to the support of Robert Bruce." [5]CITATION[CLOSE]The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)

One of the first records of the name was Richard de Lidel, who witnessed a charter of the church of Largs between 1202 and 1234. Later, Galfridus Liddal was listed in Roxburghshire in 1266.

Early History of the Leday family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leday research.Another 198 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1202, 1300, 1400, 1383, 1406, 1453, 1474, 1477, 1561, 1613 and 1607 are included under the topic Early Leday History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leday Spelling Variations

Early Notables of the Leday family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family at this time was Duncan Liddel (Liddell) (1561-1613), the Scottish mathematician and physician. Liddel was born in Aberdeen and after an education in languages and philosophy, he went abroad at age of 18. In Germany, he studied under a... Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leday Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Leday family to the New World and Oceana

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John Liddel settled in Virginia in 1653; Thomas Liddle settled in Virginia in 1650; George and Michael Liddel arrived in Philadelphia in 1856; George, John, Robert, Thomas Liddle all arrived in Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1860..

The Leday Motto

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.